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Glite Dictionary
to impawn

to impawn

9.9
Give something valuable to a pawnshop to get money
  • verb
  • /ɪmˈpɔn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : empeñar
  • She had to impawn her jewelry to afford her medical bills.

Examples

  • If you impawn your valuable items, you can get a loan quickly.

  • He decided to impawn his guitar to get some cash for rent.

  • And pray, take heed how you impawn our person, how you awake our sleeping sword of war.

    Henry V (1989)

Synonyms

to pawn
vsto impawn
55 5.6

Leave something with a shop that lends you money

is broader, not limited to pawnbroker transactions
to collateralize
vsto impawn
  • Formal
3 9.3

To use something valuable as security for a loan

is a general act used for loans rather than formal financial arrangements
to imponed
vsto impawn
  • Archaic
9.9

To give something as a guarantee for a promise

is the modern general term for giving something as loan security
to hypothecate
vsto impawn
  • Specialized
9.9

Give property like a car or house as security for a loan while keeping and using it

is about giving the item to secure a loan rather than keeping possession

Surface Forms

impawn infinitive
impawned past
impawned past participle
impawning present participle
impawns third person singular

Morphology

impawn = pawn (transparent) = im + pawn + im

The verb is formed by prefixing 'im-' (an assimilated form of in-/en-) to 'pawn', yielding a meaning directly equivalent to 'to pawn'.

Etymology

The word impawn comes from the prefix im- ('in' or 'into') plus pawn, as in pawnshop, where you leave an item to get money. So to impawn something is to put it 'into pawn' — that is, to give it as security for a loan.